Silenced
by Durhelediel and Layren
Summary: Obi-Wan has discovered something he wasn't supposed to find out. His master has been cloned. Will anyone believe him or will his secrets be permanently silenced? COMPLETED
1. Default Chapter

Silenced: Part One

Word from the authors: Well, we've done it again, and this time we're mightily proud of ourselves too. lol This one just came together nicely _and_ without us killing each other-which we are also proud of. lol Feel free to comment. We absolutely love feedback!

Chapter One

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn frowned deeply as he tripped upon entering his and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi's, apartments. His mouth fell open as he surveyed the living room. Trash littered every single square foot of carpet. Obi-Wan was busy in the middle of a pile of what looked like trash, frantically tossing around various objects and muttering "Nope...not that one.nope.not that one either." 

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said warningly.

Obi-Wan jerked his head up, his hand paused in the act of tossing another piece of trash, his eyes comically wide. "Um...yes, Master?" He asked, as if nothing was at all amiss.

"What in the Force are you doing?" His eyes strayed over the bowls of popcorn that were overturned in the living room, empty drink cans and wadded piles of datasheets scattered through out the apartment.

Obi-Wan swallowed and slowly lowered his arm. "Um...looking for...something..." He said evasively.

Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed. "What are you looking for that would possibly require the dismantling of our apartment?"

Obi-Wan scratched his head. "Oh, I'd rather not say..."

"You don't have a choice." Qui-Gon folded his arms over his chest. "What are you looking for?"

Obi-Wan sighed and folded his arms, refusing to look at his master. He mumbled something that sounded like "treaty for Parallie".

Qui-Gon stared at his apprentice. "'Treaty for Parallie'?" Comprehension dawned on him. In a remarkably calm voice he said, "You lost my datacard with the treaty on it?"

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "'Lost' is such a broad word, Master...."

"Obi-Wan!!" Qui-Gon exploded. Taking several deep breaths he said, "Go to your room. Don't come out until I come for you. If that is a week from now_ stay there_. Am I understood?"

Obi-Wan finally glanced up. "But, Master, don't you want me to find it?"

Qui-Gon put a hand to his head. He had to go meditate before he really did kill the boy. "How long have you been searching?"

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together but held up five fingers.

"Five what? Hours?" Qui-Gon was aghast. "Go. Now."

Obi-Wan hung his head and angrily kicked at his door as he passed through it. His door closed, but only for a moment. Suddenly, he poked his head out. "It's not like I did it on purpose, Master!"

Qui-Gon's eyes flashed as he looked up from a pile he'd started to dig through. "Where do you last remember having it? I told you strictly to come back and put it on my bed. To find that you lost it implies that you disobeyed my instructions."

"I didn't!" Obi-Wan protested as he entered two steps into the room. "I did place it on your bed. But then Bant and some others came in. We talked and...played around a little and when I glanced in your room it wasn't where I put it. I've been trying to find it ever since."

"You invited friends over without asking?" Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed.

"They just came over...I didn't invite them," Obi-Wan clarified.

"You should have told them to leave! I expect my instructions to be followed, Kenobi. When they are not things like this happen." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "If you will recall, Learner, you were already in trouble for disobedience."

Obi-Wan swallowed at his master's formal tone. "Yes, Master," he whispered. He turned again to go.

"No. Stop. You stay here and find it. I am amending my instruction. I am going out. Do not under any circumstance leave this apartment until I come back. Am I clear on this?"

Obi-Wan nodded and went into his room quietly, tears running down his cheeks, until his master left. He sat on his bed, quietly crying for a few minutes. Then, his anger surfaced. He really hadn't done anything wrong. He had put the datacard on the bed like he had been told to; he hasn't asked his friends to come over--they had just come on their own choice. Why was his master so cross with him? Well, he'd just show him for a little while. With a little effort, he blocked his master's bond with him. There.

Qui-Gon pulled his cloak on and headed out of the room. He had to get control of his temper. He headed out of the Temple not even bothering to greet anyone he passed.

Qui-Gon stopped, startled, feeling Obi-Wan's end of the bond cut off. He reached back along their link. He hated that Obi-Wan was so upset but he had to learn. His mistake with Xanatos had been with being too lenient. He had to discipline the boy so he didn't repeat this foolhardy behavior. Another unpleasant thought surfaced. The Council would have his hide if he couldn't come up with the missing datacard. The last two missions had ended with reprimands for his actions and he couldn't afford for something like that to happen again so soon.

A shadow slipped along the wall behind him, unnoticed.

Qui-Gon continued to fume about the missing datacard, wondering where it could be in his room. He had a sudden idea as to a possible location and turned to go back to the Temple to check.

The shadow, its glowing red eyes malevolent, slid up to Qui-Gon and a growling voice said, "Stop, Jedi. You're surrounded."

Qui-Gon tensed as he looked around for a voice and his gaze narrowed as he saw a pair of glowing eyes penetrating the darkness. He put a hand to the saber at his belt. //Obi-Wan?//

The shadow pointed a blaster at him. "Freeze that hand, Jedi. If I don't get you, then one of the other ten that are around you will."

Qui-Gon looked at him coolly. "Are you sure about that?"

The wraith smiled, showing a row of sharp and pointed teeth. "Yes, very sure."

Qui-Gon ignited his saber. "Sorry, but I think not. I have a previous engagement back at the Temple."

The wraith barked an odd laugh. "Not anymore. We will take care of it for you." A sound of two blasters whined through the air.

Qui-Gon crouched, presenting himself a smaller target and he deflected several stunbeams. He winced as one he missed hit him full in the back and he fell forward flat on his face, the saber rolling from his grip. As he fought for consciousness he reached out pushing desperately at Obi-Wan's shields, trying to get him to reply. //OBI-WAN!!!!//

The wraith smiled as the Jedi crumpled. He produced a comlink. "He's down. The other can go into place now. We'll be at the building in less than half an hour."

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~

Qui-Gon Jinn frowned as he came in the door to see Obi-Wan, upset, in the middle of the living room floor, hunting for something. "Padawan? What's the matter?"

Obi-Wan spun around, startled. He stood. "Master! I wanted to prove to you that I hadn't lost it."

"Lost what? What are you on about?" Qui-Gon frowned, staring at him.

Obi-Wan swallowed, then frowned. "The datacard. You've only been gone two hours. Don't you remember?" He brightened. "Does that mean you're not mad at me any longer?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, now thoroughly confused.

Obi-Wan blinked. "The...datacard..." He said, becoming increasingly confused. What was wrong with his master? "I lost it...you got mad. Remember?"

"What datacard? What are you talking about? I thought I told you to work on a homework assignment." 

Obi-Wan frowned more deeply. "That was yesterday."

"Oh, you're right. So it was. Well have you found the missing datacard yet?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "No, Master. I put it on your bed. I just...don't know where it could be."

"Perhaps it slipped under the bed. Let's take a look shall we?"

Obi-Wan, highly confused at his master's behavior but shrugging, bent down to help his master look. Sure enough, hidden in the darkest shadows, was the datacard. "Wow. I've been looking everywhere and it was right here all the time!"

Qui-Gon smiled indulgently. "Well, I suppose all that remains now is that you clean up this mess in the apartment."

Obi-Wan nodded eagerly. "Yes, Master. I'll do it right now." He turned to go.

Qui-Gon relaxed on his bed and tucked the datacard into the tunic of his robes. He wondered what it was that they had found and then shrugged, realizing it must be of some importance but resolving to look at it later. He stretched out to take a nice, relaxing nap.

Obi-Wan stood, speechless, for a few moments in the living area of their quarters. His Master had looked ready to kill him just two hours earlier and now it was if he didn't even remember the whole incident. He blinked. Maybe Qui-Gon was just having a rough day. His master had been called in to speak with the Jedi Council earlier...maybe he had been reprimanded again. Whatever it was, it would pass. Sighing, Obi-Wan bent down and started to pick up the trash on the floor.

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~

Qui-Gon groaned as he slowly came to, feeling like he'd been kicked from the back of a speeder and dragged down several flights of stairs. His head was throbbing as were his shoulders. Wherever he was it was as cold as a night on Hoth, he thought. His eyes slowly fluttered open. He discovered as he came more awake the reason his arms hurt so badly was they were chained, spread eagled, above his head. His feet had also been chained to the floor in the same manner. He glanced down at himself and sighed as he discovered he was wearing nothing but a loose cloth of coarse material around his middle.

A cackle sounded in the room. "Good, good! My subject is awake! Wonderfuuuuuul!"

Qui-Gon rolled his eyes at the cheerfulness in the voice. Wonderful, sure. He wondered if the speaker had his voice altered to be so annoying or if it was just natural.

A middle aged man with brown hair starting to grey around the edges walked into the room with a bounce in his step. The most notable thing about him was the Jedi robes that he wore. "Qui-Gon!" He greeted in his cheerful voice. "How nice to see you again, my friend! I'll let you out of those chains after you answer just a few questions for me." He smiled.

Qui-Gon's eyes widened in surprise. "Syfo Dias? What are you doing here? Where is here anyway?"

Syfo bowed, still grinning widely. "'Here' is my new humble home since the Council found my methods...disagreeable. Now, before you can get lose, I have to make sure you won't interfere with my plans, my friend. If you oblige me with answers to a few questions...You're smart, Qui-Gon. I've always admired how you spit in the face of the Council when it suits your purposes. I have here a little...operation that I have made you the first test subject of. Would you like to know what you have the honor of being?"

Qui-Gon twisted in his chains, wincing as his muscles protested. His blood ran cold at the idea of him being a test subject of anything. "Test subject? I'm sorry old friend, but my contract with Zan Arbor ran out years ago and I never signed the reenlistment bonus."

Syfo chuckled. "Yes, my friend, I heard about that unfortunate mishap with that insane woman. I'm so glad you survived. But, you see, my test will not harm you at all...unless you threaten to tell anyone of it. You see, I cloned you." He grinned, pleased with himself.

Qui-Gon gaped, staring at his friend uncertain as to whether or not he heard correctly. "What?! But that's supposed to be impossible."

Syfo giggled and twirled in place. "Oh, but it isn't! You have a 'twin' of sorts now walking around pretending to be you. This is a wonderful experiment to see how well the clone can adapt and learn. I'm monitoring him very carefully, but first I had to...invite you here to get you out of the way for a while. Now, if you promise to behave, I will let you free and we'll go to the main lab and observe the clone together."

"No. The Council needs to know about this experiment immediately. The whole reason the Cloning project was banned was due to irrational behavior of the first subjects. If that clone starts acting rashly he could harm my apprentice." Qui-Gon tried to free himself from the chains suspending him as he talked.

Syfo frowned. "Qui-Gon, I'm surprised at you. I thought out of all the Jedi you would appreciate what I'm doing with this experiment." He walked over to his friend. "Why can't you just be happy and share in this with me? We can watch the clone's behavior to make sure that nothing goes wrong. What is the problem with that?"

Qui-Gon looked at the man like he was insane. "The problem with this," he said irritably, "is that the clone can access my bond with my apprentice. If he starts behaving rashly he could mentally harm him, causing irreparable damage." He snapped, "Weren't you paying attention back then when the testing was going on?"

Syfo sighed and leaned against the wall next to Qui-Gon. "Yes, but I fixed all that mental instability. Or at least I think I did. We should find out with this test experiment. Your padawan is resourceful. He'll be okay."

"'You think you did'?" Qui-Gon echoed. "I will not subject my apprentice to this test," he stated firmly.

Syfo sighed again and then walked a few paces away from Qui-Gon. "I'm sorry you feel that way, my friend, but the wheels are turning and I will not stop them now. If I can prove that my clone is perfectly fine, then I can get a contract with a highly successful creature cloning company off of Kamino. There are millions of credits in it for me and nothing you can do or say will stop me. So, my friend, I suppose you'll be staying chained for a while. By the way, the chains are made with a high grade of cortosis ore. You can't cut it and you can't manipulate it with the Force. Have a nice day. I must keep up with my clone."

Qui-Gon cursed silently as Syfo Dias left. Cortosis ore. He struggled with the chains anyway, trying to get loose. He had to get to Obi-Wan. Who knew what damage that clone might inflict on his apprentice? He gritted his teeth as another unpleasant thought surfaced. Obi-Wan had been shielding against him when he left...no one would even know he was missing. He swallowed hard at that thought.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

            Obi-Wan woke the next day and frantically discovered that he had overslept. He and his master sparred every day first thing bright and early. It was practically noon. He hurriedly shoved his robes on and dashed into the living area...and skidded to a halt. Snoring sounded from his master's room. Scrunching up his face in puzzlement, he tip-toed over to the room and edged the door open. Qui-Gon was sleeping soundly. "Master?"

            Qui-Gon slept on, ignoring Obi-Wan. He mumbled something in his sleep and then turned over.

            Obi-Wan poked his master. "Master, wake up. We missed our sparring this morning." He shook his head. It was so unlike his master to sleep late.

            "Go away. I'm still sleepy." Qui-Gon buried his head in his pillow.

            Obi-Wan pushed his master's shoulder. "Master, what am I to do about sparring?"

            "Go spar with Master Josel," he mumbled. "Tell him I'll make it up to him later." He pulled his covers over his head.

            Obi-Wan sighed and headed for Kyran Josel's room. He knocked lightly, hoping that his master's friend was in.

            "Come in." 

Master Kyran Josel poured over information at his living room table and looked up in surprise as Obi-Wan came over alone. "Obi-Wan," he greeted. "Where's Qui-Gon?"

            "Sleeping," he growled, plopping down on Kyran's sofa.

            "Sleeping?" Kyran blinked in surprise then checked his chrono. "At this hour? Is he feeling alright?"

            Obi-Wan shrugged. "I wouldn't know. He was mad at me yesterday and two hours later he acted as if he didn't even know it happened. Then he stayed up real late and now he's sleeping. He missed our sparring this morning and told me to spar with you. Something's just not right." He sighed.

            "He told you to spar with me and he's still asleep?" Kyran couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was most unlike his friend. "Well, alright." He turned off his datapad and stretched. "I'll spar with you. L'eryn isn't back from classes yet."

            Obi-Wan stood up reluctantly. "Only if you want to, Master Kyran. I could go...meditate or something. I heard Jayla is back from a mission. Maybe I can get her to spar with me since she hasn't chosen a padawan yet."

            "No, no. It's fine. But I'll make him pay for getting out of his duties," Kyran grumbled slightly at the way his friend was behaving. "Let's go spar."

~~~  ~~~~~   ~~~

            Syfo chuckled. His clone was sleeping. Time to see if the real Qui-Gon was awake yet. He sauntered into the room he kept Qui-Gon in adjacent to his lab. "Morning!" He greeted, flipping the lights on.

            Qui-Gon blinked as the harsh bright lights flooded the room. "If it is a good morning. I was trying to sleep."

            "You've slept long enough, my friend. It's afternoon. You sure do sleep later than I remember you doing," Syfo chuckled.

            Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "I had a little trouble getting to sleep," he said bluntly, reminding the other that always before he'd been sleeping in a bed instead of with his arms chained above his head.

            Syfo nodded. "Touché, my friend. Well, have you thought any more about my offer? I know things were quite a shock yesterday. Perhaps sleep has improved it to you."

            "Yes, I've thought about it and, no, I won't change my mind. What you suggest is dangerous." His gaze narrowed.

            Syfo shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask. Well, perhaps you haven't thought about the fact that there cannot be two Qui-Gon's alive at the same time. So one of you has to go." He eyed Qui-Gon meaningfully.

            Qui-Gon twisted in the chains and he smiled tightly. "Release me and I will be happy to get rid of our problem for you."

           Syfo laughed. "Not what I had in mind." He gestured and two young women entered. They were identical in all ways, all the way down to the electric whip they carried in their left fists.

            "Well I had to offer my suggestions." Qui-Gon eyed the two women. "Clones?" He asked pointedly.

            Syfo bowed. "Thank you for noticing. Now, these ladies--whom I call Lora and Dora--are cloned from a personal friend of mine who excels in torture. You see, I still want your cooperation. Torture might be a good way to induce your acceptance."

            "Somehow I don't think so." He paused and his stomach growled loudly in the silence and he blushed slightly. "My apologies. You were saying?"

            Syfo smiled thinly. "An empty stomach will soon be the farthest thing from your mind. Lora! Dora! Get to work. Remember...no deaths. You have a bad habit of killing my friends...let's try not to do that this time." He raised an eyebrow and then left.

            Qui-Gon twisted again, trying in vain to free himself from the chains as the women moved towards him with their whips raised. He smiled tightly. He might not be able to manipulate the chains in the room but that didn't mean he couldn't manipulate other objects. Reaching out to the Force, he pushed hard.

            Dora immediately got knocked over by a chair but Lora jumped over it and raised her whip. A cruel smile crossed her face as she brought the whip around to hit his face.

            Qui-Gon inhaled sharply as the electric whip touched his cheek. It sizzled and burned through his skin, causing it to crack and bleed.

            Lora backed away and Dora jumped up, wrapping her legs around his chest. She batted her eyes at him, and then pressed the whip down on his chest right below his neck. She winced at the pain through her hands but held it there, smiling as the smell of burning flesh wafted into the air.

            Qui-Gon yelped in pain as she held the whip at his chest until blood flowed freely from the wound. He reached out to the Force and tried to push her away.

            Dora felt the pull of the Force at her and jumped off his chest before he could throw her off. Lora wrapped her whip around his throat and turned it on.

            Qui-Gon yelled in pain and then choked as the cord was wrapped around his throat. He gagged, trying to get enough air, and reached out to the Force. //Obi-Wan!!!//

~~~   ~~~~~~  ~~~~

            Obi-Wan panted and held up a hand to Kyran to let him catch his breath. Earlier he had let down the block he had had on his master's bond with him so that he could more easily feel Kyran's directions as well. He was just about ready to begin again when he heard his master's mental cry. He staggered with the force of it and the pain behind it and fell to the ground, barely turning off his lightsaber in time to avoid cutting himself in half. He saw Kyran rush up in the corner of his eye. //Master?// The last he knew, Qui-Gon had been asleep.

            //Obi-Wan....I can't breathe...//

            Obi-Wan felt the connection fade. //Master?_ Master_?// Suddenly, a sleepy response came back, confusing Obi-Wan as Kyran helped him up.

            //Don't shout so loudly, Obi-Wan. You've given me a headache.//

            Obi-Wan frowned. //But...weren't you just calling for me?//

            //No. Are you sparring with Master Josel like I asked?//

            Obi-Wan glanced up at a concerned Kyran. //Yes, Master. My apologies for disturbing you.// He let the connection go.

            Kyran frowned. "Obi-Wan? What's the matter?"

            Obi-Wan leaned on his master's friend for a moment. "Master Kyran, I'm so confused. I just got a strong sense of pain from Master Qui-Gon and then when I asked him about it he said he was asleep." Obi-Wan shook his head, feeling light-headed and dizzy. "What's going on?"

~~   ~~~~~  ~~~

            Qui-Gon cursed as Obi-Wan let go of their link. He couldn't afford to expand any more energy into reach out to the boy. At the moment it was taking all of his energy just to stay conscious with the cord around his throat.

            Lora let the cord go right when darkness edged on his vision. She took seriously the command to not kill them. It was Dora who sometimes got carried away. Dora smiled grimly and then keyed for Syfo. In an emotionless voice, she said, "He might be ready to talk again."

            Qui-Gon choked as she let go of his throat. It was raw and cracked, bleeding from the length of time that the whip had been held around it. That was the least of his worries at the moment. He tried to get enough air into his lungs, gasping for breath as he gulped in large amounts of air.

            Syfo walked back in and clasped his hands behind his back. "I've had a problem of being lenient in the past and perhaps that's why you decided to test me, Qui-Gon. Now that you see that I mean business, do you have anything you would like to say?" He waited, clearly expecting Qui-Gon to accept his offer.

            Qui-Gon continued to gasp for air, wincing at the soreness in his throat, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse. "I have nothing to say. Please, don't do this to Obi-Wan," he pleaded.

            Syfo frowned, clearly caught off-guard. "Have you always been this stubborn? I don't quite remember you this stubborn, Qui-Gon."

            "You said you remembered how stubborn I was. Now you don't. You said you think this experiment won't hurt Obi-Wan. I don't think I trust your memory anymore," he responded hoarsely.

            Syfo scowled. "My memory is fine, Qui-Gon. I just think I made a mistake on who I thought would appreciate my efforts here; I'm wrong."

            Qui-Gon's brow furrowed. "You thought I would appreciate you possibly hurting my apprentice?" He shook his head incredulously. "Your memory is even worse than I thought."

            Syfo took a menacing step towards Qui-Gon's battered, bleeding, and burned form. "My clones are safe! These two obey me and so will the clone of you, Qui-Gon. You are just too short-sighted to see that!"

            "Short-sighted am I? If you think the Council won't discover this, you're sadly mistaken. They keep close tabs on cloning technology. And if your clone obeys orders then it will be even more obvious that it isn't me."

            Syfo's face turned beet red. He sputtered for a moment and then gestured to Dora. "Sew up his lips. I don't want to hear another word out of his sarcastic mouth for a long time." He turned and stomped out of the room.

            Qui-Gon inhaled sharply at hearing his orders and he frantically twisted in the chains holding him, trying to free himself and knowing that he couldn't afford to have his mouth permanently shut for him. He cursed at the two women, using a variety of highly colorful phrases he'd picked up in his youth.

            Lora smiled at him, impressed at his cursing. It was a shame they had to stop that beautiful stream of obscenities. But she was ordered by her creator so she would obey. She grasped Qui-Gon's wrists and with incredibly strong hands stilled him as Dora approached with a needle and thread...and a twinkle in her. 

Syfo popped his head back in the room and called out, "Oh, and I gave them super strength. Figured they would need it as females." Then he was gone again.

            Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. He reached out to the Force, trying to push them away from him, knowing that he was in trouble if they got near his mouth with that needle.

            Lora quickly kneed him in the groin when she felt the whisper of the Force start to pull at her. There. That should distract him long enough.

            Qui-Gon groaned at the pain and tried to double over but he couldn't. He felt vaguely like he was going to be sick. He reflected that it was a good thing his stomach was empty after all.

            Dora expertly took the needle and jabbed it into his lower lip. Slowly, she pulled the sharp metal through the bottom lip and then the top one. She took up speed as he recovered, and very quickly had his lips sewn shut, though slippery with blood. She raised an eyebrow. "Not so smart now, Jedi," she spat at him.

            Qui-Gon glared at her through the stream of tears running down his cheeks. Force how it hurt. He wanted so badly to pass out but the pain kept jerking him back every time he came close.

            Lora released his hands and she and Dora stepped back together to exit. "Sleep tight," Lora whispered, and then they were gone to leave him alone.

            Qui-Gon cursed inwardly, wishing that he could sleep but the pain prevented him. Tears flowing silently down his cheeks, he tried to reach out to Obi-Wan. //Obi-Wan...please...//

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Obi-Wan was in the middle of a flip above Kyran's head when Qui-Gon's pain once again slammed into him. "Whoa!" He lost his concentration and fell...right on top of Kyran. He lay on the mat for a minute and reached out. //Master? What is it?//

            //Please...help...Help me into a healing trance...I can't manage it...//

            Obi-Wan, thoroughly confused, concentrated and eased his master into a healing trance. He heard a muffled voice underneath him and scrambled off of Kyran. "Sorry, Master Kyran."

            Kyran frowned slightly, wondering what was going on as he got up from the floor. "What happened?"

            Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his knees. "I just had to help Master Qui-Gon into a healing trance. He was in incredible pain. I..." He broke off as a shadow towered above him. He glanced up to see Master Qui-Gon. "Master?" He said, squinting, feeling as if his head was about to explode.

            "Is something wrong, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon frowned at him. "This is our usual practice time, isn't it?"

            Obi-Wan just stared at him, his jaw dropped. "But...you...I just...Why aren't you in a healing trance?"

            "Healing trance?" Qui-Gon frowned at him, a concerned look on his face. "Are you feeling alright, padawan? Perhaps the stress of your assignments has been too much for you." He put a hand on Obi-Wan's forehead to feel if he had a fever.

            Obi-Wan jerked back from his hand like it was a live wire. "Don't...don't touch me!" He yelled, causing the other sparring partners to stop what they were doing to stare at him. "You...you're not my master! Who are you? What's going on here? Where's Master Qui-Gon?" He panted heavily and stared at the man who looked like his master.

            "Obi-Wan," he said soothingly. "Of course I am. I've been your Master ever since you were twelve, almost thirteen. Now let's go to the Healer's and see if we can't figure out what's wrong with you."

            Obi-Wan glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you, imposter. I want to know where Master Qui-Gon is!"

            "Obi-Wan, I will not be spoken to in that tone of voice. You _are _coming with me." He grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and yanked him along.

            Obi-Wan reached out desperately for Kyran. "Kyran! Help me! You'll never see me again! You've got to believe me! Kyran!!" He yelled as he was being dragged out of the room.

            Kyran stared at the boy wondering what in the Force was going on. "Qui-Gon, let me talk to him for a few minutes alone if you don't mind." He arched a brow at his friend.            

            Obi-Wan felt his arm released and hurried over to Kyran. "Thank you, Master Kyran." He pointed at a bemused Qui-Gon. "That is not my master."

            "What are you talking about, Obi-Wan? Of course he is. Who else could he be?"

            Obi-Wan shook his head. "I have no idea. But he's not Qui-Gon. You've got a bond with my master...check what you feel. Tell me I'm wrong." He folded his arms to wait.

            Kyran frowned and reached out to the link he shared with Qui-Gon and his eyes widened. He inhaled in surprise. "You're right. The question is now...where is the real Qui-Gon?"


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

            "Just deal with it. No one will believe him anyway. They'll lock him up so tight under surveillance that you'll have free reign. I want this problem taken care of _now_!" Syfo barked, then twisted off the communicator. Fuming, he stomped into the room Qui-Gon was being held in. "Your apprentice is more meddlesome than I thought," he complained.

            Qui-Gon would've smirked but the thought of moving his lips after they'd been sewn shut made him dizzy. Instead, he merely quirked a brow and let eyes do the talking for him.

            Syfo scowled. "I've had to direct the clone of you to have him institutionalized at the Temple. Evidently, he's well on his way to figuring out what's going on and I can't have that. He started yelling and causing a scene. If he can't be contained, I'm afraid I'll have to have your hatred forever, Qui-Gon, because I had to give the clone instructions to kill him if Obi-Wan did anything else."

            Qui-Gon glared at him and Force pushed him hard across the room to show his displeasure at the situation.

            Syfo flexed his fingers and blue Force lightening danced around them. "Don't toy with me, Qui-Gon, especially in your present...condition. You might find that it'll be very painful for you."

            Qui-Gon rolled his eyes then closed them, ignoring Syfo Dias, and started to try to meditate, indicating to the other that he had no intention of discussing the matter any further.

            Syfo growled and stomped out. Matters with the apprentice were getting out of hand. But he was sure that Obi-Wan would not be much of a problem to deal with because the clone of Qui-Gon was skilled in the dark side of the Force. The boy was in way over his head.

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~

            "Hello, Obi-Wan," A cheerful, smiling young healer came in as was the routine to ask him how his day had been. "How are you feeling this evening?" She walked over to him and fixed his sheets that had half fallen off the bed.

            Obi-Wan glared at her through his drugs. His mind was fuzzy and he had no idea how long he had been here. Once again, he tried to make someone see reason. "I'm not crazy! You've got to let me out of here! Master Qui-Gon is in serious danger!"

            "Obi-Wan, please calm down. Don't hurt yourself. I just asked you if you'd had a nice day. No reason to bite my head off. I've brought you dinner." She indicated a tray laden down with food.

            Obi-Wan glared at her still. "I don't want dinner!! I Want Out! I need to find Master Qui-Gon! Please, you've got to believe me!"

            The young healer rolled her eyes. That was all this boy could talk about. "What are you talking about, Kenobi? Your Master brought you here. He's not in any danger."

            "That's not my master! How many times do I have to say it!! I need help to get to him." His fuzzy head made talking difficult. "Please..." he whispered.

            "Shh. Just relax, Obi-Wan. Relax and eat." She held a bite of his favorite dish to entice him to eat.

            Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. "No. Not until you let me go."

            The healer apprentice lost her temper. "By the Force, Obi-Wan, you know I can't do that! Eat!"

            Obi-Wan did not respond, only turned his head to the side.

            The healer apprentice stomped out, taking the food with her. "You'll get hungry later. I'll check back."

~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~

            "Know this for certain, do you?" Master Yoda asked Kyran.

            "Yes, Master Yoda, I am certain. Obi-Wan is not insane and there is no reason for Qui-Gon to have locked him away. Qui-Gon is missing. I feel it from our bond."

            Master Yoda exchanged a look with the other Jedi Council members. "Need more before releasing Obi-Wan we can. Investigate this fully we will. Stay you will near the Temple for word."

            "What more do you need?" Kyran asked barely keeping his temper in check. "Qui-Gon would not have under any circumstances had Obi-Wan locked away were he thinking and acting like normal."

            Yoda stared at Kyran. "Normal acting Obi-Wan is not. Investigate his claims we will. Respect you will the decision by the Council."

            Kyran gritted his teeth but bowed to the Council and left.  In his preoccupation, he ran smack into someone as he turned a corner. "My apologies." He looked and saw he'd run into his former padawan. He grinned. "Knight Jayla."

            The blonde haired, blue-eyed young woman grinned. "Master Kyran! How wonderful to see you again!" She glanced deeply into his eyes and immediately sobered. "What's the matter?"

            He glanced over his shoulder to see who was listening. "Come to my apartment and I'll tell you. I don't want to discuss this in the hall."

            Jayla nodded, holding her tongue all the way into his quarters. Once they got there, she burst out, "Okay, rumors are flying in the Temple about Obi-Wan losing his mind. What is going on?"

            "That's just what I'm upset about. He's not losing his mind. Qui-Gon isn't himself. He's a clone. I felt it from our link. Something is off and that's the only way I can think to describe it."

            Jayla frowned in thought, her eyebrows bunching up. "Ok, so what did the Council say? Evidently nothing good from your expression when I saw you."

            "They said they need more information." Kyran rolled his eyes. "They intend to leave Qui-Gon wherever he may be hurting. Obi-Wan had to help him once into a healing trance."

            Jayla made a noise in her throat. "Hm, well, how do you want to bust Obi-Wan out of the Healers Mental Ward?"

            "I'm not sure but I have a few ideas." His eyes gleamed the way they did when he had an idea that might later get him in trouble.

            Jayla laughed. "Well, I haven't gotten into trouble with the Council since becoming a Knight so I'm game. Count me in."

            "You know me. I hang out with Qui-Gon too much. I'm always in trouble." Kyran smirked. "Lets go."

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Lora and Dora entered the room in the dark. They had decided to have a little fun with the Jedi on their own time.

            Qui-Gon tensed as the two clones entered the room, wondering what they were going to do to him now. The last time they'd been here they'd sewn his lips shut and nearly strangled him. His throat was still sore but at least he could conserve his voice by being forced to keep his mouth shut.

            Dora whispered to Lora, "Let's have more than just a little fun with him. The creator will never know." 

Lora hesitated. "I don't know, Dora. The creator said not to kill this one." 

Dora scoffed. "We won't kill him...just have fun."

            Qui-Gon twisted in his chains, trying in vain for the millionth time to free himself. There was no possible way out. He'd run through every scenario he could think of but they all included him being freed first and that wasn't very likely to occur anytime soon.

            Dora grinned wickedly and showed Lora a new device she had made that was slender. "We can try this out."

            "What is that?" Lora asked curiously, ignoring Qui-Gon for the moment.

            "Watch and learn," Dora chortled. She held the end of the slender part at Qui-Gon's chest. Pressing a button, a little gripper shot out and sank deeply into Qui-Gon's flesh. She twisted it and then the gripper locked in place.

            Qui-Gon's face twisted in pain as the gripper sank in his flesh. Desperately, he reached out for the Force, drawing it around him, trying to prepare himself.

            Dora chuckled. While the Jedi was distracted with the grippers, a shot of acid squirted out of the middle of the grippers, burning through his flesh.

            Qui-Gon let out a muffled cry of pain as the acid began burning into his flesh. Force, how it hurt! He gritted his teeth as tears began again to flow down his cheeks. It was obvious Obi-Wan wasn't coming to help him. With all his strength, he desperately reached out to his best friend. //Kyran!!/

            Kyran jerked up from where he was crouched near the Healer's Mental Ward. //Qui-Gon?//

            //Please...where are you? I need you.//

            //Breaking out your padawan to come to you...Where are you?// Kyran asked.

            //I have no idea. I was knocked out a few blocks from the Temple.//

            Kyran thought for a moment. //Try to find out where you are and once I rescue Obi-Wan I'll make contact again to come get you.//

            Qui-Gon whimpered at the thought of trying to stay conscious, but he knew it was necessary. //Alright.// He paused as his brain caught up with him. //Rescue Obi-Wan?//

            Kyran pursed his lips. //Um, yes. Everyone thinks he's crazy. He's currently locked away in the Mental Ward.//

            //What?! Why!?//

            //No one believes him that you are not…well, you. I almost didn't until he had me check through our bond,// Kyran admitted. //He's heavily drugged but reaches out to me every once in a while to get him out of here. Once I have him, I'll get back to you.//

            Qui-Gon groaned through their link at the idea of his padawan being locked away in a mental institution. //Alright. Please be careful.//

            //We will. Hang tough for a little while longer and try to find out where you are. I have to get Obi-Wan before the nurse gets back.//

            //Alright. Check back when you have him.// Qui-Gon ordered.

            //I will.// Kyran cut the contact for the moment.

            Qui-Gon digested the new information. So everyone thought his padawan was insane? He smiled at that in spite of the pain in his lips. Sometimes, when Obi-Wan had had a little too much sugar, it was easy to believe that he was insane, however he doubted that was the case here.

            With the contact cut, Qui-Gon was no longer distracted and the pain from the various places that Dora had squirted acid on him slammed into him. While he had been talking to Kyran, she had moved the grippers to various places all over his body so now he had over twenty places that burned like living fire.

            Lora chuckled, watching the Jedi squirm in pain, tears flowing again from the acid her twin poured over him. "That's enough, don't you think? The creator said not to kill him, remember?"

            Dora rolled her eyes. "A little acid won't kill him!"

            Lora rolled _her_ eyes in kind. "Well I'm getting bored and I'm hungry."

            Dora scowled. "You just don't have a stomach for true torture, Lora. I suppose we've done enough for tonight." She extracted the grippers and kissed Qui-Gon on the cheek...directly over a spot that had acid on it. "We'll be seeing you again soon, Jedi." She cackled as she left.

            Qui-Gon sobbed as they left. The acid still burned into him. What they had burned into his arms and legs had burned through showing the tissue and bone underneath. //Kyran....//

            All he got was a busy response from his friend. Qui-Gon was uncomfortable in his chains...and suddenly felt a spot of deep pain burning in his manly area. His eyes widened. Had he been so distracted by talking to Kyran that he hadn't even noticed the women burn him with acid there? He wept as that one spot of pain overrode all the others.

            Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Dimly he wondered when his friend would be able to get him out of this. It hurt and he couldn't help himself heal. Mercifully, after several minutes, he passed out.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter 4

            Obi-Wan swam in a sea of fuzzy faces and dim lights. His wrists began to chaff from being tied up "for his own safety" but he no longer noticed. He could barely remember his own name with the drugs they had him on, let alone why he was there. He cried often, wanting his master, but whenever Qui-Gon visited he would flinch away, not remembering why.

            Kyran crept as silently as a wraith into Obi-Wan's room and glanced down at the youth who was bound to the bed. "Obi-Wan," he said softly, touching the boy's face gently.

            Obi-Wan heard a distorted voice calling his name and jerked. He blinked, trying to focus through the haze of drugs. The face was familiar...but he couldn't place the name. All he remembered was that this was a friend. He whimpered, "Get me outta here," though not entirely sure why he wanted out so badly.

            Kyran gently undid the straps that bound him and lifted him in his strong arms. "I am. We're going after your master. Come on."

            Obi-Wan sighed gratefully and let himself be carried out to a pretty young woman. She was glancing up and down the corridor. "Hurry," she hissed, placing one of her shoulders underneath his to support some of his weight. "The nurse will be coming back soon."

            Kyran blushed slightly. "No, she won't."

            Jayla glanced over at him. "What do you mean, 'no, she won't'?" She groaned. "What did you do now?"

            Kyran blushed even more. "Nothing! I just put her in a healing trance." He said defensively. "She'll be very healthy when she wakes up."

            Jayla smothered a laugh. "Well, someone will be by...I can feel it in the Force that someone is coming. Hurry." She helped Kyran support Obi-Wan all the way back to Kyran's quarters, ignoring the odd looks they got in the Temple since Obi-Wan was mostly nude. Gently, they set him down on the couch. "Now, what do we do with him? They've got him drugged to the skies!" She said, exasperated. "He's in no condition to go after his master this way."

            "Get him something to eat first, Jayla, and I've got something that will help him." He blushed again. "I won't leave him here. If Qui-Gon's clone finds him here..." He trailed off and shook his head.

            Jayla nodded and rushed to his kitchen. He was always good for an unhealthy snack or two right above the cooling unit. Ah, there it was. She pulled down an assortment of sweets and then returned to Obi-Wan. As she enticed him to eat, she called out to Kyran, "Get him some clothes while you're at it. Once he becomes fully aware he might get embarrassed around me like this." She chuckled.

            Kyran arched a brow and handed the boy an extra pair of pants and a tunic that he'd stolen from the boy's room when Qui-Gon was out. "Already taken care of. Here." He handed the clothes to Obi-Wan.

            She looked at Kyran like he was crazy. "What? You want me to dress him? He can't even stand in his present condition."

            "Fine. Then leave the room for a moment while _I _do it. " 

Gently he assisted the boy up once Jayla had gone and helped him pull on his clothes. "There. That's better."

            Jayla decided to see what Kyran had in his medical cabinet. She pawed through a few bottles of medicine when she spotted something that she thought would help speed up Obi-Wan's recovery from the drugs. She stared at the label as she entered the living room again. "Kyran, what in the galaxy are you doing with a bottle of wixanthime?"

            The faint blush appeared in his cheeks again. "I…uh…borrowed it from the Mental Ward."

            She gave him a look that he knew from their experiences together meant that she wasn't exactly buying it. "Well, this will help him recover nicely. Find time to use it with Qui-Gon lately, have you? It's recent."

            "No. I'm going to put it back when I'm done with it. I just knew Obi-Wan would be drugged. Now don't question me." He loaded some of the substance into an syringe and gently injected the boy in a place where he thought it would hurt the least—his stomach.

            Jayla shook her head but held her tongue until after Obi-Wan was injected and then laid him on the couch. "How long until he's able to help us out?"

            "Not long. An hour or so at most. He should be able to help us then. Maybe sooner depending on how well his body reacts to having the drug," Kyran responded.

            She raised an eyebrow. "And how long until they figure out we have him?"

            Kyran grinned at that. "Not until tomorrow if all goes as planned."

            She rolled her eyes as she dropped into an armchair. "With you, nothing ever goes as planned!"

            Kyran scowled slightly. "It's not my fault. Instead of berating me about my methods why don't you tend to Obi-Wan," he snapped, slightly harsher than he intend. "I need to check on Qui-Gon." He stomped off to his room.

            Jayla sighed as he left. She had only been joking but with the stress he was under she should have known better. Curling up into a comfortable position on the couch, she watched Obi-Wan breathe.

~~~    ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Qui-Gon came too slowly after having been passed out for over an hour, wincing at the pain in his neck and shoulders as he moved. Force, it hurt so badly. Tears came to his eyes as he moved. //Kyran, where are you?//

            Kyran, already deep in meditation, reassured his friend. //Right here, Qui. Did you find out where you are?//

            //No. I…can't talk. So I can't ask questions. Lips sewn shut. Sith, it hurts....//

            Kyran frowned. That would make it harder. And his friend's lips were...sewn shut? //Have you had anything to eat or drink since you were captured?//

            //No. // He hurt so badly that he wanted to just pass out again, but he wouldn't dare let himself now while he was talking to his friend.

            Kyran sighed. //Hang on, my friend. We have Obi-Wan now and he should be waking soon. Once he's up, we can figure out where you are and get you. Any idea who has you and why?//

            //Syfo Dias. He's experimenting with clones. He silenced me when I said the Council needed to be informed of his experiments. All for a pile of credits. His own credit balance means more to him than my padawan's life.// Qui-Gon swore through their link, wincing at the deep pain as he moved.

           Kyran shook his head. //Syfo Dias has been a wild card ever since the Council began to question his ulterior motives. But not even I suspected him of something like this. Well, no matter, I suppose. At least now I know where to find you. Syfo has a lab not too far from here.//

            //Good. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. I'm so thirsty.//

            Kyran's heart broke with the thought of how close his friend was to dehydration. //We're coming, Qui-Gon. Please hang in there.//

            //That's all I can do.// He joked lamely. //Look after Obi-Wan.//

            Kyran nodded, though he knew his friend couldn't see him. //I am. We'll be there soon...hold on until then. I'm going to go check on your sleeping apprentice.//

            Qui-Gon exhaled through his nose as Kyran broke contact. His throat was parched from the earlier wounds and the fact that he'd had nothing to eat or drink in five days didn't help him much. Only one thing mattered to him at the moment and it was getting water. It was all he could think of. His face twisted slightly, remembering that even if he'd had a glass of water he wouldn't be able to drink it. Despair settled over him then as he wondered if he would be able to get out of this alive.

            Lora silently stole into the Jedi's room and crept up to him. All night she had thought of what was being done to him just because he didn't agree with the creator. The creator, though, did not want him to die and humans expired after five days of being without water. He couldn't drink with his lips sewn shut so she had retrieved a syringe, filled it was as much water as she could get into it, and come here. Her eyes locked on his for a moment.

            Tears flowed down his cheeks as he looked at the syringe, wondering what she was going to inject him with. He exhaled, figuring it didn't matter anymore. He was done. He wouldn't fight anymore.

            Lora, being surprisingly gentle, took his arm and then stuck him with the needle. Without wasting any time, she squeezed the precious fluid into his system and then left to get more, certain that he would need it. She tried to ignore how his tears made her heart break.

            Qui-Gon winced as the needle slid under his skin, and then he realized what it was as she left. Water. He wondered if she'd been acting on her own or under orders to give it to him.

            Lora returned four times with water before she heard footsteps in the hall. She quickly hid the syringe in her sleeve as Dora stepped in. Her twin gave her a long look but refrained from comment except to say, "The creator is coming to talk to you again. He wants you to be able to speak this time." She produced wickedly sharp scissors.

            Qui-Gon held still as she cut his lips where she had sewn them shut. It hurt like fire. He was close to the point of collapse. He screamed as she cut through the final strand that had been sewn, finally able to give voice to his suffering.

            Lora winced at the pent up sound from his cracked and bleeding lips. 

Syfo walked in and smiled. "Ah, able to speak again I see. How's your..." He glanced at him and frowned. "What are those acids burns for?" He suddenly scowled and rounded on Dora. "You tortured him without my permission! How dare you take the gumption to do something without my approval! I am most seriously displeased with you! Out of here now!" 

Dora glared and stomped out without a word. 

"My apologies," Syfo said.

            Qui-Gon looked at him like he was crazy, then he winced at the pain from the burns. He cast his gaze to the floor, deciding that to face his tormentor wasn't worth the effort.

            Syfo sighed. "Now I suppose you're mad at me. I just wanted you to join me."

            Qui-Gon eyed him, but when he spoke his voice came out as only a weak croak. "Jedi do not seek revenge. I don't think I'll be joining you anytime soon."

            Syfo sighed. "It's as I thought then. Well, I just don't know what I'm going to do with you. I need some time to think of it. I'll get Lora here to get you some food and water while I think. Lora, dear, see to it." He left and Lora glanced down, wondering what the Jedi would say to her now that he could speak.

            "Thank you," he managed to croak out, knowing she would know what he was thanking her for.

            Lora jerked her head up and tried on a smile for the first time since her activation almost two weeks earlier. "You're...welcome..." She said, the words having difficulty coming out, having never been used. "I suppose I should get you something to eat and more water."

            "Please." He frowned slightly, wondering about how difficult it would be to eat with his bloodied, cracked lips, but then he decided it didn't matter.

            Almost as if she had read his mind, she added, "I'll find something soft so that you can eat with minimal pain." Bowing, she left.

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Kyran hurried through the Temple corridor with Obi-Wan, taking a side passage that he'd discovered in his youth with Qui-Gon that led to a secret exit. "Come on," he whispered. He tensed, feeling the strange presence of the clone close by. "Hurry!" He hissed.

            Obi-Wan was still a little shaky from the drugs but he was mostly ok now. He forced himself to keep up with Kyran's longer legs. He was about to catch up when strong arms locked around his throat. He let out a cry. The clone had him. "Kyran!"

            Kyran whirled and in an instant had his blade out and ignited. "Let him go." 

            The clone chuckled. "Are you serious? This boy is my ticket out of here, should anyone start to believe him besides you. Better beware, Kyran...I am not entirely the same as your friend."

            "Let him go." Kyran held the saber at the clone's neck very aware that if anybody saw him threaten Qui-Gon like this then he could be locked away just like Obi-Wan.

            The clone tsked. "Oh, I don't know. I like having a bargaining chip." He tightened his arm around Obi-Wan's throat and it became quickly clear that Obi-Wan was having trouble getting oxygen.

            "Using a boy to further your ends? Tsk tsk. Fight like a man why, don't you?"

            The clone snarled and suddenly thrust Obi-Wan at Kyran, catching them both unaware. Obi-Wan choked and gasped for air while the clone faced Kyran. "Better?" He mocked.

            Kyran caught the boy before he fell into him and steadied him. He smirked. "Yep. Have a nice day." With that, he Force pushed the clone backwards hard, slamming him into the wall behind him. He grabbed Obi-Wan's wrist and pushed him down the corridor. "Run. Go. Don't look back. Go after Qui-Gon."

            Obi-Wan nodded. He raced away, trying to keep in mind the directions that Kyran had rambled to him as he had woken up on where he thought his master was. A flash of light came from behind him, along with a cry, but he obeyed his master's friend and didn't look back.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter 5

            Kyran flew back and slammed hard into the wall behind him. Force lightening. He cursed violently, then narrowed his gaze as he stared at the clone, panting. "That's not very manly. Leaning on lightening is a crutch."

            The clone laughed. "But it works so well. See, now you are against the wall and I have room to attack you." So saying, he spun a lightsaber that looked nothing like the original Qui-Gon's into his hands and lit it. It was pale yellow. "Shall we?" He asked sardonically.

            Kyran panted for breath and his gaze narrowed at the clone. He began to circle with him. He opened the battle by attacking first with a feint.

            The clone easily blocked the feint. "Oh, don't insult me," he taunted.

            Kyran rolled his eyes, then launched a flurry of attacks, pushing the clone back towards the wall.

            The clone began to lose a little ground as Kyran kept up his attack. Scowling, the clone spun, blocked, then shot out a stream of Force lightening, catching Kyran in the side.

            Kyran cried out as the lightening burned into him and he panted for breath, trying very hard not to pass out. He had to give Obi-Wan time. He winced and put his hand to his side. He narrowed his eyes. "Using that crutch again."

            "It's a nice crutch and seems to work on you very effectively. Now, are you going to spar or just play with me?" The clone sneered, suddenly seeming not at all like who he looked like.

            Kyran looked startled at the look on the clone's face for it was a look of pure hate that he'd never ever seen Qui-Gon wear before. He pushed himself up from the wall and then tossed the lightsaber to the floor. "Let's get rid of all crutches, shall we?"

            The clone grinned evilly. "I'd have it no other way," he said as he tossed his lightsaber to the ground as well. He danced around a little on the balls of his feet and then jabbed at Kyran.

            Kyran smirked and grabbed his wrist to neatly flip him over. "Glad to hear it."

            The clone looked completely taken by surprise as he found himself on the ground. "Wha-?" Scowling, he quickly jumped to his feet and spun a leg around to sweep Kyran's legs out from under him.

            Kyran leapt up and over, and grabbed the clone in a headlock before he could turn around. "Getting a bit slow old friend."

           "As you already know, I'm not your friend!" The clone grabbed him from behind his armpits and slung him, back first, against the wall.

            Kyran groaned as he hit the wall hard, the breath knocked from his lungs. He fell to the floor and tried to regain the air that had been knocked out of him.

            The clone gave an evil laugh. "Poor Kyran fell down!" He leaped in the air and landed hard on Kyran's chest. Something inside snapped.

            Kyran cried out, feeling one of his ribs break. He had to destroy the clone before he was killed--but how to do that with a broken rib he had no idea. He put a hand to his side, wincing deeply at the pain.

            The clone stood up and put his hands on his hips, clearly pleased with himself. He bent down to pick up his lightsaber. "Now to finish this slight problem of you and take care of my troublesome padawan." He ignited the yellow blade and stood over Kyran, gazing down into Kyran's eyes.

            Kyran saw the blade coming towards his neck. He called his saber to him and had it ignited in an instant, thrusting it into the clone's stomach. "I don't think so." He smiled tightly.

            The clone's eyes widened and he sucked in a deep breath. His lightsaber tumbled from his lifeless fingers and he crumpled to the ground...to reveal Mace Windu standing, horror-stricken, at the sight. "Kyran!" He gasped.

            Kyran inhaled sharply, then wished he hadn't as his ribs hurt. He got up holding his ribs. "Mace, this isn't what it looks like. Qui-Gon was a clone. Please, trust me." He groaned at the pain in his side. "Sith. Ow."

            Mace's face hardened and he marched up to Kyran, jerking him by the arm. "The only thing I saw was you murdering your best friend, Kyran Josel! We're going straight to the Jedi Council about this!" He pulled out his comlink. "I need guards right away to come to my location. We have a possible Dark Jedi in the Temple."

            Kyran gasped in pain as Mace jerked him up. "Mace, please. He broke my ribs."

            "Murderers do not get to ask things of anyone, Kyran Josel," Mace said, his eyes hard. He kept a tight grip on Kyran. "Now, I want you to hand over your lightsaber nice and easy."

            Kyran's gaze narrowed at his friend. "I'm not a murderer." He handed over his saber. "In time, you'll learn the truth as I have. Obi-Wan was right." He winced at the pain in his side.

            Mace narrowed his eyes. "Obi-Wan has lost his mind, until the Jedi Council has time to investigate things fully to prove otherwise. I was just notified that he has gone missing. You wouldn't know anything about that, now would you, Josel?"

            "Who, me? No one ever listens to me around here anyway. Mace, you're hurting me." He winced at the way he was being forced to walk with his arm twisted behind him.

            Mace ignored him and sighed in visible relief as six Jedi came running up to them, lightsabers out and lit. "Take him to the Council quickly. We need to get to the bottom of all of this."

            Kyran cried out as they twisted his arms roughly behind him and cuffed him in energy binders. He inhaled sharply as his Force-sense was cut off.

            Mace kept them at a jog all the way to the Council chambers. He waved his hand and the doors opened upon their approach. He saw the assistant and ordered, "Absolutely no one is to come in until someone says that it is safe to do so!" The woman nodded.

            Kyran gritted his teeth as he was hustled along, wincing deeply at the pain that flooded through him from his broken ribs as he was forced to jog. In all the possibilities of breaking Obi-Wan out, he hadn't considered this. He wondered what the Council would do to him if they didn't believe him. If his best friend was saved it would be worth it. He would sacrifice himself.

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~

            Obi-Wan panted as he surveyed the building across the busy street. It looked harmless enough to enter but he knew from past psychos that harmless meant absolutely nothing. He sighed and started to walk quietly around the street when he felt a blaster in his side and froze immediately.

            "Well, well, well. Look what I have here. A little Jedi," Dora sneered in the padawan's ear. "You seem to be turning up in a lot of places."

            Obi-Wan sensed that this...woman...could tell him information but when he tried to concentrate on the emotions of her mind all he got was a strange buzzing. She must be a clone! "Where is my master, Qui-Gon Jinn?" He demanded while keeping his hands visible. "I want to see him."

            "Oh, don't worry. You'll be seeing him." She steered the young padawan forward and into the lab. "Keep your hands where I can see them and I'll show him to you." She led Obi-Wan through a series of corridors with several twists and turns and finally stopped at a door at the very end of a lonely looking corridor that had only one door. She keyed the code and pushed him in.

            Obi-Wan stumbled into a slightly smaller room than the others they had passed and then looked up. His heart immediately broke at the sight of his master hanging limply with blood all over him. Several places all over his body had blackened smears that he knew was acid. His throat was burned and the top of his neck was as well. "Master!" Obi-Wan cried out.

            "Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon coughed out and he craned his neck trying to see the boy.

Dora rolled her eyes at the exchange between the two. She deftly removed Obi-Wan's utility belt while he was occupied and slipped out the door. "Enjoy your last few moments Jedi," she said as she left.

            Obi-Wan rushed up to his master. Tears ran unheeded down his cheeks as he gently laid his head against his master's burned and bleeding chest. "Master, I'm so sorry it took me so long!"

            "Oh, Obi-Wan, please don't cry. I never should have gotten so angry and left. It's not your fault. Shh." Qui-Gon cursed Syfo Dias for restraining his arms so he couldn't hug the boy.  The most he could do was use the Force to help soothe the upset young man.

            Obi-Wan smiled up at him, still fighting the last dregs of the drugs he had been under to concentrate on his master properly. "I found the datacard, Master. It was under your bed. I didn't lose it after all." He grinned, hoping that his master would be pleased.

            Qui-Gon frowned. "It was there all the time?" He shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry I got so upset Obi-Wan."

            Obi-Wan shook his head. "You're under a lot of stress..."

            Qui-Gon laughed slightly. He glanced up at his chains. "I guess you could say that. Where's Kyran? Why isn't he with you?"

            Obi-Wan paled and turned away for a moment. "He...got caught up with the clone. I don't know what happened to him. He..." A sudden flash of pain slit across Obi-Wan's mind. He screamed and dropped to the floor, holding his head. Mercifully, the pain was short lived, but he was left sobbing on the ground.

            Qui-Gon stared at the boy in stunned shock. "Obi-Wan!? What's the matter?"

            Obi-Wan had to breathe for a few minutes before he could answer. "The...clone is dead..." Was all he could force out.

            Qui-Gon inhaled at that. "Oh, no. Kyran had to kill him. Sith. I hope nobody saw him."

            Obi-Wan finally recovered enough to stand again, though shakily. "That was...not an experience I want again. Please don't let anyone else clone you, Master," he tried to joke.

            Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "Like I let him do it this time, Padawan." His gaze hardened as the door opened and Syfo Dias walked into the room. "So. Decided what you're going to do with me yet?"

            Syfo nodded. "As a matter of fact, I believe I have. Grab the padawan," he ordered Dora and Lora.

            Qui-Gon's muscles tensed as Obi-Wan was grabbed and dragged across the floor to a wall.

            Obi-Wan twisted in the twins' grip. He was taken to the opposite wall and then chained in a similar fashion as Qui-Gon. His eyes wide, he reached inside the Force and called out, as planned, to the one person that he and Kyran had planned to try to keep out of this. //Jayla! Help!//

~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Kyran stood before the circle of twelve Masters, feeling vaguely like he would be sick from the pain in his ribs as well as from the effects of this meeting. It would be well within the Council's right to dismiss him from the Order if they did not believe him. Sharp nausea ran through his stomach, almost doubling him over.

            Yoda sighed. "Disturbing this account is. Friend to you Qui-Gon was. What say you to the accusation?"

            "Master Yoda, please listen. Obi-Wan was right. Qui-Gon is a clone. I felt it from our bond, just as Obi-Wan did," he pleaded earnestly, paling from the pain in his ribs.

            Yoda frowned. "Cloning of humans allowed is not. Technology advanced enough is not. Still not through our investigation is."

            "Just because technology is banned doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere on the black market, Masters. I know where the real Qui-Gon is. He told me that Syfo Dias is holding him and if he can perfect the cloning technology so that the clone doesn't do any rash behavior, then he will get a contract from the Kaminoians worth millions of credits."

            Yoda glanced over to the other Jedi Masters. 

Mace Windu leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "If this is true, then this is very troubling. However, we must wait for a few days for the rest of our results to come through before we can make a decision. Until then, until this clone theory of yours can be proved, you will have to be detained for the murder of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and the kidnapping of Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi."

            Kyran swallowed hard at that and he bowed, wincing as the motion aggravated his ribs and a stray tear slipped down his cheeks. "Yes, Masters."

            Yoda smiled kindly at him. "While kept in containment you are, medical treatment you will receive. In pain I can sense of you. Precious is truth, Kyran Josel. If truth you have on your side, fear not you should."

            Kyran looked at the floor. "But what about Qui-Gon? How much pain will he suffer, untreated, while you wait and decide if I'm telling the truth?"

            Mace glared at Kyran. "You should be grateful that some of us believe your crazy story, Kyran. Don't get yourself deeper into your mess while your allies are thin. Like Qui-Gon you need to learn when to keep yourself quiet...this is one of those times." He gestured at the six Jedi guards. "Take him to the Healers and then to the prison basement, though allow him to be detained in a cell that does not have the Force blocked from it." He gave Kyran a look and suddenly Kyran understood that Mace actually was on his side.

            Suddenly, his blood ran cold and he gritted his teeth as he remembered who was also down there in the prison.  He cursed mentally as they led him out. This was not going to be fun, not at all.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter 6

            Jayla was idly flipping through a holochannel when Obi-Wan's call hit her. She immediately jumped up and raced out of the Temple. Jumping in her speeder, she zoomed toward the place that Kyran had directed them to, hoping that she wasn't too late.

~~   ~~~~~  ~~

            Kyran gritted his teeth as they pushed him into one of the cells at the basement levels. He sighed deeply and sat on the small cot in the other side of the small room. Now what?

            "Oh my...the galaxy must be tilted...is that esteemed Jedi Master Kyran Josel, friend to Qui-Gon Jinn, that I see in here with me in my humble home?" A snide voice from a few cells away commented.

            "Shut up, W'Go." Kyran growled at him. "I didn't come to visit you."

            W'go chuckled. "Oh, but at least now I have some company. Say...you wouldn't want to come share a cell with me, would you?"

            "No. I think I'd rather rot in my own cell, thank you kindly," Kyran spat at the fallen Jedi.  W'go had been a member of the Jedi Council…until he had tried to sexually violate Qui-Gon when he was younger.  He and Qui-Gon had discovered that W'go had a history of such behavior and had met the sister of one of the young Jedi that W'go had violated, Lana Marks.  Lana was now a good friend to them both and W'go was stuck down in a cell that cut off the Force for a very long time.

            "Aw...you don't know what you're missing..." W'go coaxed. "Don't be such a spoil sport, Kyran. I can make it worth your while, though I'd rather have Qui-Gon or his wonderful padawan."

            "Too bad. You can't have him. I killed him."

            W'go's laughter abruptly choked off. After a stunned silence, he said, "I would laugh, but somehow I think that you're telling the truth...from a certain point of view."

            "You're correct. From a certain point of view." Kyran leaned against the wall and sighed. Why, oh why did the Council put him in the same hall as the psycho who'd assaulted his best friend years before? "This seems to be the cells where they take those who've hurt Qui-Gon. Does each knight have a designated hallway, or am I just lucky?"

            "Just lucky," came the snide remark. Suddenly, W'go whistled. "Looking good, Lana! Come on over here and give me a hug! Or a kiss! Or something a little more, though I prefer Qui-Gon..." 

Lana Marks' husky voice could be heard as she bit off a few obscenities and then said, "Go stungun yourself, W'go."

            "Shut up, W'Go." Kyran stood and went to the bars of his cell and grasped Lana's hands. "Lana. You shouldn't be here."

            Lana smiled at him, tears gathered in her eyes. "Well, word travels fast, especially by a mysteriously anonymous call from the Temple. I had to see you. I had to know what happened and I had to hear it from you."

            Kyran frowned wondering who called her. He looked away. "According to the Council, I murdered my best friend." His gaze darkened. "The Qui-Gon I killed was a clone." Seeing the stunned look in her eyes he hurriedly filled her in on everything that had happened in the last few days. "Qui-Gon, when we fought, broke two of my ribs and attacked me with Force lightening. That was not Qui-Gon. I could feel it from our bond and through his behavior," he said in a rush, his eyes begging her to believe him.

            Lana thought for a moment and then slowly squeezed his hand. "I believe you," she whispered. "So what's being done about finding Qui-Gon? Where's Obi-Wan?"

            "The Council is doing nothing but sitting on their hands investigating," he said bitterly. "I took matters into my own hands. I could not in good conscience sit on them after Qui-Gon called out through our link telling me his lips had been sewn shut. I had to rescue Obi-Wan from the Mental ward." He blushed slightly at that.

            Lana about choked. "Mental Ward? Obi-Wan? He's the most sensible Jedi so far I've ever met. Sometimes I wonder how in this galaxy he ever got to be Qui-Gon's padawan!" She blinked. "And Qui-Gon's lips were..._sewn shut?!_" She felt faint.

            "Yes." His gaze darkened in anger. "All for a pile of credits." He cursed. "He was in so much pain. I couldn't just sit and do nothing. If there's one thing I've learned from Qui-Gon it's that sometimes rules must be broken to do what you know is right. This was right. I'm certain of it."

            Lana nodded. "Ok...so what was Obi-Wan doing in the Mental Ward?" 

W'go started to chuckle so she spat at him and hit him even from two cells down. "Shut up, W'go!"

            "He felt the clone through their link. He tried to tell the Council. The clone took him to the mental ward and just left him there," Kyran said bitterly. "Qui-Gon would _never_ have left Obi-Wan in a place like that."

            Lana nodded more earnestly this time. "Yes, Qui-Gon dotes on Obi-Wan like a father. He would have been at his side every second. So...the clone is dead and you're in here. I assume Obi-Wan is rescuing the real Qui-Gon?"

            "Of course he is." _I hope_, he added to himself silently.

            Lana caught the gist of his thought and gave a small chuckle. "Obi-Wan would jump out of a ship without any protection if it meant helping Qui-Gon. I'm sure he's fine." She paused as she thought. "Though...I do hope you have backup handy."

            "Yes. My former padawan is on stand-by. I hope they're alright. I have to wait and trust the Force."

            "Jayla?" Lana inquired. "Jayla's back? Good. She's a practical young woman. She shouldn't do anything rash."

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Jayla crashed through the ceiling to the room she sensed the two Jedi in and tumbled to the floor in a pile of rubble. Her amethyst lightsaber was out and ready as she surveyed the situation.

            Qui-Gon looked up at the spatter of debris as part of the ceiling caved in around him. He arched a brow as the dust cleared and he saw Jayla with her amethyst saber. "Fancy meeting you here."

            Jayla grinned at him. "Will the real Qui-Gon Jinn please stand up?" She joked, then turned her attention to two women facing her. "Okay, I'm taking the Jedi with me. Any objections?"

            "Like I can do anything besides stand." Qui-Gon muttered and rolled his eyes.

            Lora glanced uncertainly at Qui-Gon and shook her head. The Creator had put him through so much pain. She knew he was hurting and needed medical attention desperately. "No," she whispered.

            Dora glared at her twin. "No?" She screeched. "I'll show you 'no'!" She quickly fired off her blaster...right at Lora. Lora's eyes widened in shock right before she crumpled. Her eyes found Qui-Gon's. "Forgive me," she whispered, and then was still.

            Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed and he yanked the blaster from Dora's grip with the Force. "Good, no more objections."

            Jayla quickly spun around and tried to slice through Qui-Gon's chains. Promptly, her lightsaber sputtered and died. She cursed.

            Qui-Gon arched a brow. "Swear a Jedi should not."

            Jayla shot him a look and relit her lightsaber quickly. "Cortorsis ore. Should've known. Hold on." She flipped over the rubble on the floor to land next to Dora. "Key," she demanded.

            "No," Dora growled and in a lightening quick move used her sharp nails to slice cuts across Jayla's cheek.

            Jayla cried out and spun around in reflex. She cut off one of Dora's arms. Both women stared down at the severed arm for a moment.

            Dora glared at the Jedi and threw the keys in her face, aiming to hit her in the eyes.  She stomped out, cradling her bleeding stump of an arm.

            Jayla snatched the keys in the air with the Force and then raced over to Qui-Gon. Quickly, she unlocked his wrists, and then found herself supporting his massive, muscled weight as he dropped. "Oof!"

            Sorry." Qui-Gon groaned and then cried out as he landed on her. The pain from the acid burns on his chest was nearly one hundred times worse when impacting any surface. He rolled off her and lay in the floor, nearly sobbing in relief that it was finally over and that he could go home.

           Before Jayla could stand up, a burning pain slammed into her and she screamed, dropping the key and her lightsaber. She glanced up as she writhed in the floor in pain to see Syfo Dias, Force lightening coming from his fingertips, pointed at her. Her muscles electrified and spasmed out of her control. She tried to cry but her tear ducts were dried out. "Qui-Gon!" She gasped.

            Qui-Gon's gaze narrowed and he reached out to the Force, shoving Syfo Dias back, distracting him from Jayla. He snatched up her lightsaber and thumbed the switch, trying hard not to wince at the sharp pain that went through his muscles as he moved.

            Syfo growled and grabbed his own lightsaber. "So it is to be physical battle, my friend."

            "You're the one who started with the battles, old friend. Hurting an innocent. My friend Kyran won't be very happy with you when he hears about what you've done to his padawan." Qui-Gon lunged forward with his blade.

            Syfo gracefully blocked Qui-Gon's lunge and parried with a slicing stroke. "Oh, but technically she's not his padawan anymore," he quipped.

            "Technicalities. Do you think the bonds dissolve at knighthood for everyone?" He leapt over Syfo Dias's head and twisted in mid-air, gasping as his landing was off due to the fact that he'd been restrained for so long. He staggered, trying to regain his balance.

            Syfo quickly took advantage of his opportunity and stabbed at his side. For some reason, his blade went off mark and missed Qui-Gon, barely, by an inch. He growled and glanced to the side to see Jayla, fighting for consciousness, her arm stretched out toward them. The meddlesome woman must have used the Force to push his killing blow to the side.

            Qui-Gon smirked slightly as he regained his balance. "Missed." He used the Force to toss the keys to Obi-Wan and then lunged at Syfo Dias again, coming at him harder and faster than he had before.

            Obi-Wan tried to catch the keys but missed and they landed at his feet. He let out an exasperated groan. Then he noticed Jayla crawling, slowly and painfully, toward him while the battle between his wounded master and the psycho Jedi raged. Finally, Jayla reached him but had no strength to stand. She concentrated in the Force and floated the keys up to where it was needed and used the Force to turn the keys to unlock Obi-Wan's hands. He grabbed the keys and she mercifully passed out.

            Qui-Gon lunged at Syfo Dias, finding his opening, and managed to tear the lightsaber from his grip. He held the tip of his blade underneath the tender skin of Dias's chin. "Game point."

            Syfo chuckled. "Not quite." His eyes blazed, red flecks showing in them, and suddenly Qui-Gon was pushed so hard against the opposite wall that he momentarily stuck to it. Syfo chuckled. 

Obi-Wan unlocked his feet, spun his lightsaber into his hands, and charged the Dark Jedi with a yell.

            Qui-Gon hit the wall with a thud and slid to the floor, desperately in search of the air that had been knocked out of him. His eyes followed Obi-Wan as he attacked Syfo Dias.

            Obi-Wan flipped through the air, slicing down with his lightsaber as he did so. His purpose was not to kill: he was not experienced enough to kill a Dark Jedi and he knew it. Instead, he was aiming to hurt Syfo so badly that he would have to concede defeat.

            Syfo Dias swore viciously as Obi-Wan sliced a cut along his thigh and he staggered, his balance off, holding his wounded leg and wincing. His gaze narrowed at Obi-Wan and he tried to thrust with his blade, aiming for the padawan's gut.

            Obi-Wan twisted, managing to take the blow to his side instead of his stomach. He clenched his teeth to keep himself from crying out. Determined anew, he swept his leg under Syfo's feet to knock him over.

            Syfo leapt over Obi-Wan's kick and landed hard, gritting his teeth at the pain in his leg, and fell over on impact.

            Obi-Wan quickly followed and sliced his other leg, using one hand to hold his side, blood running down his fingers.

            Syfo Dias howled in pain and gritted his teeth at the pain in both his legs.  He knew that he wouldn't be able to get back up with lightsaber wounds in both.

            Obi-Wan panted, his lightsaber still up in a defensive position as he watched Syfo and waited to see what he would do next.

            Syfo Dias cursed, knowing he was beaten. He tried to get up, but failed and winced deeply at the pain in his legs.

            Obi-Wan let out a deep sigh of relief and powered down his lightsaber. Suppressing the pain with the Force, he sent a call to Kyran. //We need pick-up. One dead, four wounded, one missing.//

            //Small problem with that, Obi-Wan.//

            Obi-Wan slid down to sit on his butt on the floor. //What is that?// He asked, exhausted and hurting

            //I'm in prison. The lower levels of the Temple. Mace Windu saw me kill the clone.//

            Obi-Wan groaned. //I can't walk. Master Qui-Gon's in no condition to walk and Jayla is unconscious. Though...I think she brought a speeder because she got here really quick. Maybe I can get us all to the speeder...//

            Kyran cursed at Obi-Wan's news. //No, Obi-Wan. Stay put and I'll see about getting help.// "Lana? I need your help."

            Lana blinked. "Anything. Name it."

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~

            Jedi Master Mace Windu hurried out of the Council room at a dead run, having heard that Obi-Wan was coming back with Qui-Gon .This he had to see since, according to their investigation, Qui-Gon was dead. What he saw in the hangar bay made his jaw drop.

            Obi-Wan had to laugh when he saw the expression on Mace Windu--and all the other Council members, except Yoda's--faces. He couldn't resist. "Still think I'm crazy, Masters?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

            Mace stared speechless at Obi-Wan. 

Yoda stepped forward. "Doubt you we did not. More information we needed." He glanced over at Qui-Gon and his features softened as he saw him trying without success to get out of the speeder on his own.

            Obi-Wan turned to help his master get out of the speeder and winced as his master's weight pulled and stretched his lightsaber burn. "Well, we all need to go to the Healers, Master Yoda. Someone needs to get Knight Jayla out of there and Syfo needs to be under some kind of lock and key."

            Yoda narrowed his gaze. "Taken down to the Healers then to the lower levels he will be." He gestured to the members of Jedi security who had arrived on the scene.

            Obi-Wan sighed in relief and sagged against the side of the speeder. He felt light-headed and dizzy. He tried to straighten and instead felt himself falling.

            Mace Windu stepped forward and caught the boy before he hit the floor. "Easy, Obi-Wan." He lifted the boy in his arms and then frowned at Qui-Gon who was trying to walk, leaning heavily on the edge of the speeder. "Qui-Gon, you shouldn't be walking. The Healers will be here soon."

            Obi-Wan pressed a hand to his forehead and weakly agreed with Mace. "Yes, Master, why don't you just take it easy until they get here?"

            Qui-Gon, proving their point, stumbled and fell, sitting down hard on the ground.  He found that he lacked the strength to get back up off the floor. "Well, I suppose I'll just sit here until then."

            Obi-Wan looked up at Mace's kindly face. "Kyran...is he released yet?"

            "He hasn't been yet, but he will be shortly."

            Obi-Wan sighed and then let Mace take care of him.

~~     ~~~~~~   ~~~~~

            Kyran sighed as he leaned back against his cell wall. He wondered vaguely if Obi-Wan had managed to rescue Qui-Gon yet. He was lonely. Lana had left after the guard ushered her out. W'Go was humming to himself next door. It was getting on his nerves. "Would you shut up, please."

            W'go laughed. "No. I find it too amusing to see how many different ways I can get on your last nerve, _partner_."

            Kyran rolled his eyes then buried his head in his arms trying to ignore him. "If you don't shut up, I'll call security."

            "Too late..." W'go said as footsteps sounded down the hall. The footsteps got nearer and then a Jedi stopped outside Kyran's cell. 

"Master Josel?" He said courteously.

            Kyran frowned as security was outside his door. "Yes?" He wondered what they wanted.

            The Jedi waved his hand and the bars slid back into their slots. "The Jedi Council extends sincere apologies for the mix-up with the clone. You are free to go, though I have been told to offer you passage to the Healers since your friends are back and are there in bacta tanks."

            Kyran let out a breath of relief as they unlocked his door. He could leave. He was free. 

Then what the guard said registered. In bacta tanks? He left the room at a run ignoring W'Go's taunting as he called after him.

"Told you I would call security. Now shut up for the peace of everyone else," he called as he ran.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

            Obi-Wan coughed and winced at the taste of bacta. He had only been in the tank for two hours but his master was still floating in there. He did not envy him the bad and lingering taste in his mouth that he would have once he got out. Suddenly, he turned to see Kyran Josel standing beside him. He smiled warmly. "Master Kyran, glad to see that they've let you out."

            "It's nice to be out. I was stuck down in the basement with W'Go. He can't carry a tune in a bucket if it was handed to him." He rolled his eyes. "Glad to see you doing better, Obi-Wan." His eyes strayed to Qui-Gon. "What have they said about your Master?"

            Obi-Wan sobered. "He'll heal...but it'll take many more bacta treatments and some surgery if he wants to avoid bad scarring." Dryly, he added, "He'll just love that."

            Kyran frowned at that. "How long will he have to stay here?" He queried

            Obi-Wan shrugged. "Master Han'yaie isn't quite certain yet. At least a fortnight."

            Kyran winced at that. "That long? What about you? When do you get to leave?"

            Obi-Wan grinned. "Tomorrow morning. My lightsaber burn wasn't really that deep, it just nicked a vein."

            "Ahh, you were lucky then. For once." He smirked at the apprentice. "When will he be able to come out of the tank?"

            Now Obi-Wan sighed. "Not until tomorrow. They have him in an induced healing trance to try to speed the process along, seeing as how his hatred for staying in the Healers is legendary." He chuckled.

            Kyran laughed slightly remembering a time where Qui-Gon had tried to unsuccessfully escape the Healer's wing, causing the chief healer, Han'yaie, to tie him to a bed.*

            Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Han'yaie thinks that Knight Jayla should be waking soon. Just in case you'd like to see her, she's in the third Recovery room. I think I should warn you...they have bacta bandages wrapped all over her since Force lightening makes skin too tender to just dunk in a tank."

            Kyran sobered at that. "Good. I'll go see her. You take care and listen to Han'yaie. I'm going to check on Jayla. I'll be back."

            Obi-Wan smiled sadly as he watched Kyran walk away, and then turned to monitor his master's presence in the Force.

~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~

            Kyran sat in a chair next to Jayla's bed and held her hand tightly. How many times had he been here in this position, he wondered. Whenever she was ill or injured, and that had been too many times to count in her youth. He studied her, waiting for her to awaken. She was older now. A grown woman and a fully trained Jedi knight. He smiled sadly at the thought.

            Jayla slowly came awake. Her body woke first and pain barely numbed by expert Healers pounded for attention. She barely sighed and then opened her eyes. To her surprise, her old master was sitting beside her, holding her hand. "Master Kyran?" She said in a whisper.

            "Mmmhm. How are you feeling?" He asked gently, squeezing her hand.

            She groaned. "Like a bantha herd stampeded over me. I assume everything came out well?"

            "Yes. Qui-Gon is in healing and Obi-Wan will be let out tomorrow. The Healers say you'll have to stay awhile."

            Jayla groaned again. "Can I ask a favor, Kyran?"

            "What's that, young one?" He asked using the affectionate term for her that he'd never grown out of using.

            Jayla tried to laugh. "Get me out of here!"

            Kyran laughed. "Sorry. I can't do that. Obi-Wan was a special exception." He grinned.

            Jayla pouted, a comical sight on her older face. "I suppose I'll have to stay here then. Could I ask a different favor then?"

            He smirked at her. "Depends on the favor."

            She smiled. "Come visit me? And perhaps bring me some food other than the junk they'll give me here?"

            "That I can do. I'll go alert the Healers that you're awake." He headed out of the room to find Han'yaie and deliver his message.

~~~   ~~~~~   ~~~

Kyran headed for Jayla's room. It had been two days now and she had been healing nicely. He wanted to check with her to see if she needed help getting out of the Healer's Ward--which he doubted--and then he was going to check on Qui-Gon. He desperately wished to talk to his friend. Killing an exact duplicate of his best friend had unnerved him more than he liked to admit. He woke several times in the night in a sweat because of it.  
            Jayla was putting things into a travel bag when the door to her room chimed. "Enter," she called. For once, her long hair was down instead of being back in a ponytail or braid. The blonde highlights gleamed in the lights and she brushed the long silky strands out of her face to see Kyran enter. "Master Kyran!" She said, pleased. "How nice to see you again!"

"I just came to see if you needed any help getting out of here." He grinned. "I figured you could handle it, but I wanted to make sure before I went to see Qui-Gon."

She smiled. "I've got it, Kyran. I was about to go see Qui-Gon before I left for my next mission. Master Windu just contacted me and says he has something that requires a woman's delicate touch." She laughed and shook her head.

Kyran shook his head. "Oh, dear. The galaxy will tremble now. Alright, well, I was just checking on you. I'll go check on Qui-Gon. I hope you have good luck on your mission."

Jayla yanked her bag closed and attached her lightsaber. "Oh, I've been told it's an easy one. Just something to get me back on my feet without having me go crazy in here." She smiled and waved as she walked out the door. "Give me just a minute with Qui-Gon, will you?"

Qui-Gon frowned as he sat in the Healer's Wing in his bed. Almost his entire body was covered in bandages and he was on cushions after dealing with the acid burns. He sighed deeply. He was so bored--and lonely. Other than Obi-Wan, no one had been by to see him. Not even his best friend.

Jayla knocked on Qui-Gon's door and once she heard a soft 'enter' she came in. "Hello, Master Qui-Gon," she greeted. "You're already looking better."

He arched a brow. "I suppose so since technically I was dead."

Jayla laughed. "My, aren't we the _spirited _one today?" She joked.

"Very funny. I suppose you'll be leaving on a mission soon," he said, trying not to show his exasperation with the amount of time that he would have to be stuck in here.

Jayla nodded. "On my way right now, as a matter of fact. I've been assured it's really easy. Just something to keep me occupied for a little while and to get me away from Master Yoda. He's already pressuring me to take a padawan." She laughed again.

"Well, don't stick a round long then. He'll probably try to badger you again as you head out the door." Qui-Gon said smirking.

She chuckled. "I know. Well, I just wanted to make sure that you're still in the land of the breathing." She winked. "I'll see you in a week."

"May the Force be with you." He nodded and settled back in his bed as she left, bored already.

Kyran popped his head in shortly after Jayla had been gone. "Need company?"

"Where have you been?" He greeted his friend. "You weren't still stuck in the lower levels, were you?"

Kyran chuckled as he walked in and sat down near his friend. "No, but I had to get my ribs set and I was put in a healing trance right after. You know I would have been here sooner."

"How have you been doing?" He stared at his friend for a long moment. "Obi-Wan told me how you protected him."

Kyran shrugged and blushed. "You know I'd never let anything happen to him as long as you weren't able to. I do feel bad about not believing him at first, though he told me he forgave me."

"You killed my clone." Qui-Gon arched a brow at his friend. "Are you alright?"

Kyran cleared his throat and examined his hands for a few moments. Suddenly restless, he got up and paced. Finally, he said, "No, I suppose not. It was...you, in a way. I killed my own best friend. Your face as I killed you haunts me, Qui-Gon. I'm...a little shaken up by it."

"I'm sorry." He sighed deeply. "I never should've left the Temple when I was angry at Obi-Wan. Then you wouldn't have had to go through that. I don't know how I can atone for it."

Kyran shook his head, though he still didn't look at his friend. "You didn't know. I didn't know. 'Know not what the future holds do we'," he quoted Yoda. "Still...I see your face...your eyes...as you died right in front of me."

"I suppose this is my corporeal self talking then." He grinned slightly, then paled as he moved. "Death shouldn't hurt this much." He grimaced.

Kyran forced a laugh as he sat down. "I guess I should go talk to a Soul Healer."

Qui-Gon put a hand on his arm. "We both should. Being cloned was not a fun experience." He touched his lips gently.

Kyran smiled lopsidedly at his friend. "Perhaps, while you have nothing else to do, I could get one to come in here while you are not in the bacta tank?"

"Yes, perhaps. Before you go, can you do me a favor?"

Kyran seemed puzzled but nodded. "Anything, my friend. Just name it."

"Get me out of here!"

THE END OF PART ONE….

DON'T MISS THE SEQUEL…COMING SOON…SILENCED: PART TWO

*This short comedy fic about tying Qui-Gon to the bed in the Healers' Wing will be coming soon.


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